‘It’s not looking good, Bart,’ Ray said, tipping his chair back onto two legs with his heels. ‘You’re from Waterford too, aren’t you?’

‘I left Waterford when I was eighteen, for crying out loud!’

‘Still, you know the county and that’s where Pauline O’Hara and Una Dolan went missing. You can’t really believe we won’t be able to prove you had a thing with Fiona? Somebody is going to talk. Vincent, most likely. Maybe Fiona told others, too. If you lie to us now, it’s all going to be used against you when you’re charged.’

Healy sucked air into his cheeks, shaking his head.

‘Look, this is mad. Absolutely bloody crazy. Fine, I’ll admit it. I had a fling with Fiona. She threw herself at me. I’m only human, for crying out loud. But it wasn’t serious and I wasn’t breaking any laws. She’s an adult, whatever the age gap. I was fond of her but I knew the whole thing was a little embarrassing. That’s why I never mentioned it. And yes, Vincent knew about it. She told him, used me to threaten him, even though I’d asked her to keep it to herself. I understood why – he’d given her a fright.

‘But as for the rest of it, you’re way off. I’m as much in the dark about where Fiona’s gone as you are and I had nothing to do with those other girls. I never met Mary Ellen Lehane nor knew of her until I was sent down to Glendale that week. And I did not ring Vincent to say you were going up to his farm. I swear it. You can check my phone records.’

Tom crossed his arms and studied the other man. Where did the truth start and end?

‘This fling you had with Fiona. It didn’t happen to result in a little package last year, did it? Her son, Cían?’

The colour drained from Healy’s face.

‘She’s nineteen now, isn’t she, Ray?’ Tom turned to his deputy. ‘So that would make her eighteen when Cían was born and either just turned eighteen when he was conceived – or maybe seventeen?’

Ray nodded.

‘That’s right, boss.’

They looked back to Healy, who appeared to have shrunk into his chair.

He was up shit creek without a paddle now.

CHAPTER 26

‘This can’t be happening.’ Joe Kennedy’s voice was muffled, his head buried in his hands, spectacles removed and placed on the desk.

Tom had brought Ray into the chief’s office with him. He wanted to see how Kennedy performed with an audience. In front of a witness, would he make the same subtle threats about Tom undermining garda colleagues?

Kennedy picked up a stress ball and squeezed it, his knuckles white with the tension.

Ray gave Tom a look that said He’s gonna blow.